When all hope is lost, Get ready to fight
by wishbone95
Summary: What happens when Greek Mythological figures get antiquated with those of Norse Mythology? An already tense situation will get worse as cultures, values and personalities will clash against each other. Isn't it amazing how all bad things seem to happen at the very same time?
1. Chapter 1

**So this was sort of inspired by "Hera's Final Act" by Toshiro of the Eternal Dream. I really liked it so I decided to continue it and yeah. Hopefully you guys like it :)**

That was it. The final straw had been crossed. She just couldn't take it anymore. It was no secret how they got married in the first place- he had taken advantage of her while he transformed himself into a bird so that she would lift him up to heat the bird with the warmth of her body. He married her, mocked her and humiliated her. He needed a queen- a wife that would not stray and she was perfect for that. She was the Goddess of Marriage after all. It was humiliating. On her wedding night, she cried, sobbing because she knew better than anyone what was going to happen next. They tried to help her- Hecate and Nyx. They offered her a way out and she refused, honoring her role as his wife, just as he had expected her to do. There were times when he did look at her, times when he did tell her that she was beautiful but it was so long ago that it didn't even matter. It was all over. She was done.

Pushing her chestnut brown hair off her face, she wiped the tears off her face, biting her lip and silencing herself yet again. She hadn't cried like this ever since the night of her wedding. Even when she was not to blame, she would still be blamed. The children she bore him would be ignored and ridiculed and the ones his whores produced would be showered with praise and glory. She was just the vain, vengeful woman now, not even the Queen of Heaven. It was quite evident that the respect that came with her empty title was long gone now. They treated her as if she didn't matter, and perhaps she didn't.

Her hands quivered as yet another page was soaked with her tears. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, facing the ceiling and attempted to compose herself. Hugging her knees closer to her, she buried her face in her knees, her tears soaking through the cotton of her white gown. With another series of deep breaths, she finally felt calm enough to pick up the paper again. This time, she'd finish the letter before she cried again, she thought to herself in silence as she began to write again.

After a few hours, she was finally done and she couldn't take it anymore. Her cheeks were damp once again as she hugged her knees closer to her body again, sobbing. It was apt to say that it was all she had done that particular night. The night would soon melt into daylight and it would be too late by then. It had to be done only when Nyx was roaming the universe. After all, Nyx was one of the few people her husband had absolutely no dominion over. After all, he never did and he never would. Therefore, she knew that if she had to leave, Nyx was the one to speak to. The gates of Tartarus were forbidden to all, including the Gods and that was her wonderful home.

Therefore, she stood up, wiping her tears off again. With a deep breath, she picked up the letter and carefully placed it on the table. Closing her eyes, she placed her crown over the letter and then, placed her palm against her lips to silence yet another sob. It was far too painful but it was the only way and she knew it better than anyone. Clenching her eyes shut, she slipped off her wedding ring, placing it over the letter and instantly turned away, hugging herself with her arms, her eyes still closed as tears continued to spill.

She would not turn around. She could not turn around. Enough was enough. She would no longer be mocked and humiliated the way she had been for so long. She was the Goddess of Marriage, not an ignorant child. Hera could tell when she was not wanted and clearly, with the exception of Hestia and Hades, clearly no one wanted her around. Aphrodite was always in the center of attention and Athena took most of the administrative decisions. Arteritis was almost never present and Demeter… well, they'd never been close to begin with. In Zeus' eyes, she was practically non-existent anyway and as for the others, it hardly mattered. She had never cared what they'd thought of her but it was easy enough to see that she was not required any longer. Hence, she'd be doing them and herself a favor by leaving, wouldn't she?

Taking another deep breath, she turned to face her window. Her brown eyes faced the dark emptiness. The ice-tipped breeze pushed her hair back from her face as a light shiver ran down her spine. Hera had never been fazed by the cold. She quite enjoyed it, unlike others who clearly preferred the heat of summer. Summer was so… disgusting. She despised the heat and evidently, the heat brought out the worst in people. However, this was no time to be speculating about the weather. She would have eternity and more for that. After all, after this she would be finally free once again. The very thought of freedom was enough to cause her lips to twist into a bittersweet smile.

As tempting as the thought of freedom was, she knew that she had built a life here. Given the life wasn't exactly the best; she had nonetheless survived and carried out her duties as she had been expected to do. Hera had been a queen, a vengeful wife and a cruel mother according to well, everyone. Of course she did not deny any of those claims and they were the reason that she had to leave. She had pushed away the world, frozen every single person out and had isolated herself in such a way that she had nothing that would provide her comfort. When she was younger, music and dance did but her life changed when she was married to _him._ Now she was done. She had allowed anger and jealousy to consume her being. Hera had allowed him to twist her own personality and she had forgotten who she was. Hera was never born vengeful, nor was she born jealous. She was born to be a peace-loving woman who was twisted this way because of her husband. Yet, allowing him to take the entirety of the blame was unfair. The point was that she had allowed his actions to influence her and now, after millennia, her eyes were open again.

She was not leaving to spite him, although that would be amusing as well. She was leaving to find herself again. Hera was leaving Zeus to be at peace with her own mind. Not every single action revolved around him and contrary to popular opinion, his actions did not dictate and determine the events of her life.

Therefore, pulling the heavy black material of the cloak over her head, she closed her eyes one final time before her figure was no longer present in the room. She'd been fantasizing about doing this since the day she got married but chose not to due to an array of different reasons. However, now she'd finally done it. She had finally left Zeus and she had done it successfully. For the first time in millennia, Hera felt alive again.


	2. Chapter 2

**So basically, this is inspired by "Exile" by Enya. It's a wonderful song and I felt it was really apt for this chapter as well as for Hera in general.**

_"Cold as the northern winds  
In December mornings,  
Cold is the cry that rings  
From this far distant shore."_

"Can we please get some lights in here? Like anything. Its pitch black" whined Hemera, her voice echoing through the stark silence of the dark dungeon turned castle, shattering the silence of the room filled with various familiar faces who simply ignored her… or tried to.

One of the faces were of course, her wonderful half-brother, not that it really mattered… well anyway, she could make out the faint outline of her brother Thanatos in the darkness. She was quite aware that Hypnos was asleep, as always and considering the others were either out or doing their respective work, she was stuck here with Thantos while her mother roamed the world, indicating nightfall.

"Oh that's a great idea! How about a fluffy pink rug and a candy chandelier and sparkles of happiness everywhere!" rang the highly excited tone of her wonderful brother as she simply rolled her eyes.

It was easy enough to see that he was being beyond sarcastic. Given that she wasn't exactly the best at detecting sarcasm, even she could tell that he was being so blatantly overenthusiastic and mocking her. What was his problem anyway? All she wanted was to make this place slightly more homely and welcoming. No wonder no one came to visit them. Tartarus really wasn't that scary of a place. It was actually quite calming in its own twisted way. But yes, she wanted to give this place a wonderful make over so that people would come to visit them. Oh how she loved guests!

"What's your problem anyway? I just want to make this place more comfortable and homely!" she defended herself, her eyes glaring at her brother's figure, who in turn simply rolled his dark eyes.

"Well darling sister, this is **Tartarus, **not exactly the happiest place in the world in case you haven't noticed yet," he responded, his voice drier than deserts.

"And that's why it needs light and any other color but black and red!" she responded hotly.

"And why exactly would you even think of such a thing? In case you haven't noticed, some of us actually like the darkness" he replied in the same tone as earlier.

"Because a lot of us don't," she bluntly stated.

"You mean like yourself?" he questioned.

"Myself, Aether and Hesperides to be exact and I'm sure a lot of our other siblings would agree with me," she responded flatly.

"Like who? Oziys?' he questioned dryly, as she rolled her eyes.

"Besides… I'd love to see you suggest that to our parents" he added before breaking into a light chuckle as she rolled her eyes again, knowing fully well that it was absolutely pointless.

As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Oziys would disagree instantly. She loved the darkness, as did most her siblings actually. Then again, her mother was Nyx and her father was Erebus. Therefore it was a hopeless cause to begin with. Then again, they were immortals who were alive for millennia and that meant that she had quite a bit of time to convince them to agree to her plans of refurnishing.

-x-

_"Winter has come too late  
Too close beside me.  
How can I chase away  
All these fears deep inside?"_

-x-

Running her fingers through her thick black hair, Hecate simply closed her eyes as she leaned against the wall, feeling the coolness of the wall seep through her black silk cloak. Beside her stood the fearsome Nyx, the personification of night itself. Unlike Hecate, Nyx clearly was upset as she rolled her dark eyes in absolute annoyance, whispering random things that Hecate wasn't really listening to. Her mind wandered to something else, rather someone else.

Hecate knew of the situation, as did everyone. However, what was quite irritating was that most simply seemed to agree with Zeus, out of fear or respect. It was quite annoying, considering it was his emotional instability and lack of self-control that lead to the problem in the first place. He was the one who not only impregnated thousands of women, but actually paraded his illegitimate children in front of his wife mercilessly. In return, whenever Hera did attempt to do something, such as protecting other women from her husband, she was branded to be a jealous and volatile Goddess whose vengeful persona overshadowed her status. As a result of this, both Hecate and Nyx had observed that overtime; her authority in the court was slipping faster and faster. Others such as Athena and Arteritis had begun to take over the administrative authority. In other words, Zeus' favorite children finally snapped out of their fear of their step-mother, which really shouldn't have existed in the first place, considering Hera really wasn't vengeful or cruel. Then again, it was so easy to forget that each story had two sides and that was exactly what had happened. Leaving her own children, no one really paid attention to her.

Hecate had been alerted of the situation through a very desperate Hestia, who in turn had been told by Ares that his mother really was quite ill. From what she had heard, Hera had stopped eating entirely and had not stepped out of her room for days. Of course, starvation did not affect Gods. But what did affect immortals was fending off Ambrosia and that was what she had been doing lately. Therefore, when Hecate did see the Queen of Olympus, she was confined to her bed, thin and her once slightly bronzed skin had lost its color entirely. Her large brown doe-eyes had lost their life as her once thick brown hair was had been reduced to thin, fragile strands. Even so, Queen of Olympus did not abandon her regal aura as she sat up on her bed nonetheless, her back absolutely straight, her head held high and her shoulders firm. Yes, now that was the woman Hecate recognized- the ultimate face of perfection and authority.

Hecate did not know the details too well, but she imagined that this reaction was caused due to another one of Zeus' actions. That man really was more like a spoiled child instead of the King of Olympus. It was quite a shame really, considering Hera was such a brilliant woman who was constantly overshadowed by the lack of her husband's character. Once she had stated the purpose of her visit, she somehow managed to convince Hera to at least think about leaving him. After all, she did not like to see her like this. They were in no manner close. Then again, she had frozen the entire world out. But Hecate knew that one day, she would appreciate her offer and from what she knew, that night was this very one.

"Oh what is taking that brat so long?" Nyx's grumbling voice shattered her thoughts as Hecate's violet eyes simply stared into the darkness of the night emptily.

"Well she does have to leave everything she's ever known… it's not as easy as it sounds you know," Hecate responded, her voice calm and low, not wanting to shatter the silent beauty of the night.

"Yeah yeah I know. But can't she hurry up? I would think it's the easiest thing in the world to leave that spoiled brat of a King," she responded, rolling her eyes, in the same tone as earlier.

"To some perhaps… but she isn't just anyone you know. She's the Goddess of Marriage you know. It contradicts every single thing she has ever known to be true… and then, there is leaving her children and her siblings. Although she hardly got along with most, Amphitrite, Hestia and Hades were close to her heart you know. Therefore, it's really not as easy as it sounds. She's not just leaving her home… she's leaving a part of herself behind," Hecate concluded in the same tone.

After all, if anyone understood how hard it was, it had to be Hecate. Egyptian by birth, she was the child of Ra and Khnum- Egyptian Gods of creation and creative poetry. Hecate herself in Ancient Egypt was considered to be the Goddess of Childbirth. After leaving, she became the Goddess of several aspects of life here, including the Goddess of change, hidden wisdom, crossroads, darkness and witchcraft among a few. She knew exactly how hard it was to leave everything behind and it was for that reason that Hetsia had practically begged her to aid Hera in such a desperate situation.

".. I get that. I really do. But I still feel that she should come faster. Given that she would be leaving her children, siblings and ideals behind, she would also be leaving a toxic environment of abuse and neglect. I always did hate that place you know? Way too flashy for my linking," she responded, rolling her eyes again, before staring into the darkness along with her friend.

"You think she'll actually do it this time?" Nyx questioned softly, breaking the silence of the night after a few minutes.

"I don't know old friend. I would like to think so, but it is not me who has to decide this time. I made my choice a long time ago and now, she must make hers as well. It's an important choice and is not an easy one in any manner. It will take time, patience and will test every ounce of character she holds in her heart," she responded softly, staring into the darkness once again.

-x-

_"I'll wait the signs to come.  
I'll find a way  
I will wait the time to come.  
I'll find a way home._

_My light shall be the moon_  
_And my path - the ocean._  
_My guide the morning star_  
_As I sail home to you."_

_\- x -_

Was she truly doing the right thing?

Was it actually right?

Naturally, Hera did not think so. She was the Goddess of Marriage and the Queen of Olympus. However, that hardly meant that she had to suffer right? Truthfully, Hera would never have even considered this if things had been slightly different. From what she observed, Athena and Arteritis were fully capable of running Olympus and they had been doing a pretty good job so far. A general consensus rang among the other Gods who truly did prefer them over her. Moreover, her children seemed to be doing well. Hephaestus seemed to be finally happy with Aphrodite, who seemed to be much kinder towards him. Hebe too seemed to be quite happy with Hercules. Although he was clearly not well liked by her personally, he seemed to genuinely love and care her precious daughter which was more than enough for Hera. Eileithyia seemed to be prospering in her role as the Goddess of Childbirth and she seemed to be quite happy herself, growing quite close to her siblings. The only one she did worry about was Ares. That boy was similar to herself in several ways. He had inherited quite the temper from his father. Yet, she knew he was more than capable of being soft and nurturing, as he always was towards his siblings, his sisters in particular. He was proud and his pride was often his downfall, as he refused to allow people to get close to him. At first, she was furious with him for his affair with Aphrodite. However, after Hephaestus had caught both of them in the act and shamed them publically, Ares had admitted his mistake and sworn off her. At first, they couldn't even bare to be in the same room as each other. But soon enough, all was good as they resumed their brotherly closeness. Regardless of that, she knew that Eris and Enyo were particularly close to Ares and that should anything happen, they would take care of him, as he would return the favor towards them and all his siblings. Therefore, as far as she was concerned, her children had finally grown up.

Therefore, nothing held her back in Olympus any longer. She felt regret for never telling anyone of her departure and prayed that they would understand why she was doing this. After all, if they truly loved her… they would understand wouldn't they?

It was hard of course. With each step she took, all she saw was the faces of her children and others whom she so loved and her darling Iris was one of them. She prayed that her children would look after her the way she had done for so long. The cute little rainbow Goddess had grown up to become an enchanting woman of hypnotic beauty, as she knew she would be some day. But beyond her beauty, Iris was a strong woman- confident and with brilliant self-control. She was a truly balanced woman and that was something Hera admired about possibly her favorite hand maiden.

However, if she was going to do this, she would have to do this at this very moment. Time was slipping and soon enough, Nyx would return to her home and the cover of darkness would be lost. It would be yet another failed attempt and she was not willing to accept that. She had backed out of this far too many times. She had shed far too many tears to go back this time and she had endured more than enough.

Therefore, clenching her eyes close, she began to walk- one step at a time, further and faster until her home on Mount Olympus was merely another figment of her memory.

Questions hounded her mind as the familiar cold penetrated through the material of her cloak and robes into her skin, causing a light shiver to travel down her spine as she wrapped her arms around herself to conserve her warmth.

It was odd how something so wrong felt so right. She knew she shouldn't be feeling this happy but Hera couldn't deny that a large weight had been removed off her shoulders. For the first time in millennia, she felt her wrists truly free of the invisible handcuffs that kept her chained to the throne of Olympus. She could breathe again, feeling the damp grass beneath her feet and the wind kissing her soft skin, as darkness consumed her sight. It was beautiful, even if she could see none of it. It was beautiful because she knew for the first time in millennia that she was free. Yet, her heart was clouded by guilt. She had abandoned her children, her ideals, her siblings and her life. She abandoned her duties as the Queen of Olympus and pursued her selfish desires of freedom. Yet, as wrong as it was in theory, every inch of her being screamed that it was right.

It was an odd sensation.

She was torn and after a long time, she felt her face to be dry. No tears had fallen and she knew that more would not fall for a long time.

She was free.

_"Who then can warm my soul?  
Who can quell my passion?  
Out of these dreams - a boat  
I will sail home to you."_


	3. Chapter 3

**Please review, even if you don't like it! I really like the story so far so I'd love to know what you guys think! But anyway, hope you guys enjoy :)**

The aftermath of battle was never beautiful. This was no exception. The day was melting into the night as bodies in various shapes and forms were strewn across the once rich farmland, various kinds of weapons piercing the blazing horizon. The air was filled with a horrid stench of blood and death as vultures circled the skies to consume their next meal- rotting flesh. The earth was stained red with the blood of thousands who had been slaughtered as if they were no more than simple cattle. An eerie silence cast itself over the battlefield as nothing leaving the wind that rustled through the leaves of trees was heard. Even the vultures were silent. This was war.

Upon the branches of trees, several black ravens had accumulated, comfortably perching on whatever they could find. Even so, not a single sound was heard for the next few hours, until daylight was completely consumed by the familiar darkness of the night. In this atmosphere, sure of absolute silence and death, the ravens grew larger and larger in size, glowing slightly as they turned from ravens to women within seconds. However, these were no ordinary women. Their silver battle armors glistened under the soft moonlight as they drew weapons of their choice- some chose long swords while others chose arrows. Either way, there was an abundance of weaponry once again. Their faces held no expression whatsoever, putting ice to shame as their eyes were nothing but bottomless pits of emptiness. One by one, they began to move, placing the tips of their chosen weapons against the dead corpses that buried the once prosperous vegetable farm. They combed through the battlefield, carefully selecting the bodies they believed had performed exceptionally in the war. After all, a warrior deserved respect and a reward. Warriors, especially the ones who had performed exceptionally well could not be simply forgotten. That was an insult to their bravery. Hence, they would be rewarded with the ultimate prize- a position in Valhalla. Therefore, they performed their jobs with great expertise, silently picking out the bravest of the soldiers.

The ordeal continued for hours and once they were done, darkness consumed the battlefield again. Not a single movement was seen. Not a single sound was heard. All that remained was the horrid scent of rotting flesh and blood as dismembered limbs were peppered across the battlefield, piled up upon one another, bleeding into the earth's rich surface.

\- x -

Valhalla was a wonderful place. It was a lively hall filled with drunken Viking warriors, intoxicated and clearly happy as they were served with more and more alcohol. After all, this was heaven to them. Nothing could have possibly been better. They died and they were rewarded a seat in this heaven, ruled by the fearsome Frejya for the moment, who at this moment, sat at the very beginning of the hall. Her table was slightly elevated as she felt the familiar tingling sensation of the alcohol sliding down her throat, finishing yet another glass of the intoxicating liquid. Within seconds, it was filled to the rim again by a gleeful servant, who clearly was drunk herself. Each one of the faces in the hall wore their full battle gear- glistening armors, iron weapons, think animal skinned boots- after all, they were their spoils of war. It was a memoir of their bravery that they would keep for eternity now. They had done well after all. For this reason, even the ruthless Goddess of war and death who lead the Valkyries was dressed in her combat attire, along with her thick, feathered cloak as always. A bright smile was placed across her lips as she chanted along with the intoxicated crowd, clearly in euphoria along with them.

After this, she would escort half of these warriors to her own field of salvation- Fólkvangr . She would hand pick those she wanted to remain with her and the others would remain here in the great hall of Odin. Normally, she would have gone to battle herself, picking up the souls she desired to keep her company. However, due to a series of complications and misfortunes, she was forced to amend the ritual slightly in this form. Either way, she was quite indifferent about the whole ordeal. After all, nothing really had changed. Odin got one half and the rest were placed in her care. Therefore, she emptied another glass of alcohol, which was quickly replaced. Besides, she always did have a weakness for good alcohol, as did every single other deity of her realm.

However, her mood instantly turned sour as one of her Valkyries walked up to her and whispered softly in her ear. The wide smile was instantly erased of her face, replaced by a grim expression. Her body instantly stiffened and her lips were now pressed into a thin line as the joy once held in her eyes was now replaced by absolutely no emotion what so ever. Naturally, none of her guests noticed, far too busy getting drunk. Then again, it was good that they didn't. If they had, panic and havoc would have been caused and she was in no mood for dealing with things 'peacefully' with negotiation and patience. That was Freyr's preferred method, clearly not hers.

Therefore, she simply stood up and marched out of the room, her footsteps and armor echoing loudly with each furious footstep. Oh this was just brilliant wasn't it? Why was it that all annoyances only came when she consumed alcohol? Could the world not let her remain in peace? Honestly, she thought to herself annoyed as she continued to walk at a furious pace, not allowing a single entity to block her path.

"Frejya!"

She could hear her name being echoed behind her but she did not let that stop her. It was probably just someone else who wanted yet another thing from her. She had no time or patience to deal with yet another foolish request.

"Frejya!"

As the voice grew louder, her body began to move faster and before she knew it, she had broken into a terrific sprint, her blonde hair running wildly in the wind as she sprinted across fields and within a few short seconds, she no longer felt the familiar earth beneath her feet. Instead, she was gliding above the earth and soon enough, she was flying.

"FREJYA! "

It was at that moment that her thoughts were interrupted by a very familiar voice. Her brother- yes, Freyr had been calling her and ironically, she was just about to hunt him down. How convenient, she thought to herself silently as she paused, her feet once again touching the ground as she turned to face the familiar features of her brother.

The moment she saw him though, he felt a sharp sensation in his stomach. Yes, his sister had kicked him, causing him to bend over, letting out an agonized grunt and just as he was about to stand up again, he felt himself flattened to the earth beneath him as his sister had kicked his knees, making him fall as he lost his balance. Within seconds, an eerily familiar screech of her sword being pulled out of its sheath was heard as he felt the pointed blade pressed against his neck.

"What in the world were you thinking?" she spoke, rather hissed, her tone filled with seething anger, reflected clearly in her eyes and her face that was hardened by the abundance of the same emotion.

"Would you allow me to explain before you attack me once again?" he questioned, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow as she hissed a few string of insults at him before retracting her sword, placing it back in its sheath that hung at her waist.

Seeing that, he stood up again, dusting the mud and dirt off his clothes before he finally began to speak. Once the entire situation was explained, her eye widened in a mixture of both shock and what he assumed was fear. For a moment, both were silent. A strong breeze pushed their identical gold-spun locks off their faces as they blew wildly in the wind. The leaves rustled and the grass danced as colored petals scattered away into the wind.

".. So what should we do now?" she finally questioned as a sigh escaped her brother's lips.

"I have no idea. I thought about speaking to Odin about this but I feel we should get more information before anything else," he stated, running his fingers through his blonde hair, attempting to tame the stray strands that were falling all over his face at this point.

"That sounds reasonable… but how are we to get more information?" she questioned, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow, awaiting his answer.

However, the answer was delayed. Instead, she was presented with a period of prolonged silence, which was shattered the moment his lips moved again.

" .. Do you recall the friend you once had?" he questioned as she raised a perfectly arched eyebrow again, in both confusion and anger.

At this point, he wanted to speak about friendship. Of course, she knew of his desperation to find a 'suitable mate'… but he seriously as she found herself speaking again.

"Be more specific brother. You know I have several friends and I must point out, this is not the appropriate time to be looking for a wife," she bluntly stated as he simply rolled his eyes at her words.

Of course, she'd think he was looking for a wife.

"The one with black hair and I'm-" he began but was cut off by Frejya, whose eyes narrowed at him in annoyance.

"Be more specific," she stated bluntly as a sigh escaped his lips, attempting to recall her description

But they'd seen each other so long ago. He hardly recalled who she was, much less what she looked like. He was quite sure that 'beautifully intoxicating' was not sufficient.

"She had really long black hair, olive skin and if I recall right, violet eyes," he replied, praying that it was enough.

His prayers seemed to be answered when Frejya was silenced, wild thoughts swimming through her mind as she attempted to piece together an identity for her brother. Over the years, she had met countless people of the same description and unfortunately, it was much harder than it seemed. However, that particular description, and the fact that the description belonged to a person that was once considered to be a friend of Frejya made things slightly easier. After all, her affections when it came to friendship especially were hard earned. Therefore, after yet another moment of silence, she knew exactly who he was speaking of.

"Hecate," she found herself saying, the name slipping out of her lips.

True, she had known her. It was hard not to. Both were Goddesses of witchcraft and magic after all. However, more than anything, Hecate was different. They had met when Frejya was much younger, far more innocent. At the time, she did not know of any other realm other than her own. It was the first time that she had ever met an outsider and naturally, she was curious. Upon further inquiry, it was established that Hecate was a Greek deity, who had migrated from Ancient Egypt. Both were unknown lands to her. Therefore, curiosity got the better of her as she began to ask her new found friend questions of these lands, eager to know what its people looked like and how they behaved. Both got along very well, complimenting each other's personality brilliantly. However, due to a decree that was passed soon after, neither of them ever saw each other again. It had been painful at first, but as time passed, the wounds of their hearts eventually began to heal themselves as they became nothing more than fond memories to each other.

"Yes! That one!" her brother's familiar voice had interrupted her thoughts again, bringing her back to reality.

"What about her?" she questioned, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow as her tone was much calmer now, much more curious in its nature.

After all, why would they possibly require Hecate? It clearly was beyond her.

"Do you still remember where she lives?" he questioned as she paused for a moment, before nodding a little.

"I don't recall too well… but I know it was in someplace that was dark. She doesn't like bright areas, filled with people and extravagant gold from what I recall at least. But she is somewhat of Geek origin so that should narrow it down… why though?" she questioned again.

"We need to talk to her. If there is anyone who would know, it would be her. She's old enough to have seen it before and she is certainly knowledgeable to know what to do. We can't risk telling anyone at this point. It will just cause panic and hysteria which isn't going to help anyone," he stated bluntly as she simply nodded.

It wasn't as if she could protest anyway. It seemed to be the most logical thing to do after all. But now the problem was how to get there in the first place. The different realms never interacted with each other and had never done so until now. Interaction between the realms was a great offence after all, not that she was bothered about such things. Pain, torture- whatever they threw at her, she could handle and she had done so. After all, she was the merciless Goddess of death and war.

"so what, we just go to Greece?" she questioned, rolling her eyes as he simply nodded with a bright smile.

Her brother had officially lost it.

"Are you insane?" she questioned as her eyes narrowed in annoyance again and just as she was about to remind him of the decree and its consequences, he cut her off bluntly.

"Bored yes… not insane from what I know. But anyway, we simply go to Greece under disguise, ask around, find out where she lives and talk to her. Simple and foolproof. We just tell everyone here that we are busy, if anyone asks that is," he stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and at that moment, all she could do was stare at her brother's bright smile.

Oh yeah, he was insane for sure.

However, at this point, they had nothing else. There was no other plan that seemed remotely effective and reluctantly, she agreed.

Oh whatever had she gotten herself into?


	4. Chapter 4

**So this was inspired by this song that I happened to stumble across on youtube. It's such a brilliant song and honestly, I don't think anything captures Ares better than this- the voice of the singer, the music and the song- all of its just breathtaking. But yeah, hope you guys enjoy and please review! It would mean so much ****J**

Just a few more hours of the dark cover remained. Very soon, Hermera and Helios would begin to play their roles in the cosmos, signaling the arrival of the day along with bright sunlight. As much as Hecate hated to admit, she too was beginning to doubt Hera's arrival. She truly did believe that the Queen of Heaven wanted to leave but the question was, would she? Knowing exactly how hard leaving a way of life itself behind, Hecate forced herself to remain quiet, never showing any hint of her true thoughts across her face. After all, she had mastered the art of emotional control eons ago. Yet, there were few who could read her, as if she were nothing but pages of a book.

"Even you doubt her. I am right so do not bother denying me friend?" asked Nyx, her voice calm and only slightly above a whisper, staring into the familiar darkness of the night.

"I was never going to," Hecate responded, rolling her violet eyes slightly as a light smirk surfaced across her fellow Goddess' frozen face.

"Well then, I must say… you have finally learned after so long," she teased playfully, attempting to lighten the mood of the night, and kill a significant portion of her boredom.

"Hey it's not like I can help it. I'm a slow learner you know," Hecate responded with the same playful tone, a smile cracking across her rose-red lips.

"As I pointed out the first time I saw you," Nyx teased once again and this time, a light chuckle escaped Hecate's lips, causing the smirk across her own to transform into a rare smile of genuine amusement.

However, the amusement was short lived. Soon enough both resumed their rigid postures as they noticed the presence of a figure in the distance. Within a few moments, the presence grew stronger and the outline of a cloaked figure could be seen through the thick mist that shrouded nights like these. It didn't take them long to know that the figure was Hera. After all, her presence had given it away. Each God had their own unique aura and Hera's was especially strong, as one would expect it to be.

As she finally approached them, neither of them said anything. After all, what would be the appropriate ice-breaker in this situation? Therefore, they simply remained silent until Nyx shattered the growing awkwardness.

"Alright let's move it. Hermera and Helios would be out soon and if anyone were to see you here, your oh so great husband would throw a fit and drag you right back," she responded, sarcasm dripping from her words as she rolled her dark eyes at Hecate's silencing glare.

"What?" she shrugged her shoulders slightly at her friend's reaction.  
"You know it's true. That man is nothing but an overgrown baby and I'm sure most of the world knows it by now, or I hope so at least," she responded dryly as a sigh escaped Hecate's lips.

"Forgive Nyx… she can be a little **too **bold at times," Hecate spoke softly to their anticipated guest before glancing to her friend and glaring at her words.

Nyx simply rolled her eyes once again, shrugging her slim shoulders at Hecate's words.

"It's fine. I'm used to it by now," Hera responded abruptly, causing the two women to simply share a curious glance before simply nodding at her as all three of them melted into the darkness of the night.

-x-

Ares couldn't sleep. He was restless. One could argue that he had been restless since he was born, being the God of War and all but he usually could sleep if he tried hard enough. As far as he was concerned, there was always war at some remote corner of the earth so that wasn't the cause for his restlessness. Lying wide awake in his bed, he stared at the ceiling blankly before turning to lie on his side again. He knew the day would come soon enough and honestly, he couldn't wait. He could finally do something again. Nothing was worse to him than doing absolutely nothing and praying to Hypnos to conquer his soul at this point was one of them.

Turning to face the other side of the bed, he didn't get much comfort there either. Therefore, he kicked off the light sheets that were covering him. As much as he hated to admit, he was forced to sleep with that and had been ever since he was a child. But then again, he really didn't mind. Being his mother's first child, she had been more excited than ever and in her excitement, she had stitched several sheets and weaved several pieces of clothing and other such items for him to use. Regardless of being an immortal God who physically could not fall prey to human sicknesses, she would still insist on him sleeping with sheets covering him every single night and when he did kick them off, she would come to his room at midnight and cover him with them again. By now, it was simply a routine because he knew that if she were to come and find him without his sheets, she would punish him.

Her punishments really weren't cruel. They were more like… well, he couldn't describe them. She never physically or emotionally abused any one of her children and therefore, her ideals of punishment were more like not speaking to them for a day or something. However, they really weren't that trivial. Neither him nor any one of his **real** siblings could go without speaking to their mother at least once a day. It had become a ritual now, more so because it was quite evident that their father was a pathetic excuse of a husband and a man in general in Ares opinion.

Letting a sigh of pure annoyance escape his lips, he sat up on his bed, running his fingers through his blonde hair. He couldn't sleep. He just couldn't and he had tried every possible thing. But something just felt wrong tonight. He couldn't place what it was. Something just was not right, which was odd because everything in his dominion seemed right. Last he checked his siblings seemed fine as well and so did his mother. Then again, with her one could never tell. She always cloaked her emotions brilliantly, especially in front of her children and Ares in particular, knowing fully that he had inherited both his parents' horrid temper.

His mind lingered on the thought of his mother slightly more. The last few days, it was quite obvious that something was wrong. Naturally, everyone knew the cause of it- his brilliant father's favorite procrastination game, he thought to himself, evidently annoyed at the very thought. After all, unconsciously, he had burned another one of his shirts. Running his fingers through his hair again, a groan of annoyance escaped his lips. He got that anger and war went hand in hand but did that mean that his clothes had to be burned to crisps as well? The worst part was that he actually did like that shirt quite a bit. Therefore, standing up, he walked towards his closet, almost ripping the door open as he pulled out another shirt to wear. Slipping the white shirt, which really was almost identical to the last, one over his head, he contemplated on returning to his bed. It wasn't like he was going to sleep anyway and it was far too late to try to do so in any case. Therefore, he did the only thing he could possibly think of doing at this point- going to his mother's room. It wasn't as if she'd be asleep at this point anyway. She usually woke up around this time to do complete the work her wonderful husband had neglected to complete again.

He had never been happier to hear that his mother didn't share a room with the pathetic excuse of a father he had. Honestly, Ares would have punched him right there if he dared to sleep on the same bed as her after all his 'activities'. Rolling his eyes at the very thought, he stepped out of his room to feel a familiar cool breeze penetrating through the rather thin material of his present attire. After all, this was one of the rare moments when he was not wearing his battle armor.

Walking towards his mother's room, he couldn't help but observe how silent this place could be when every single soul was asleep. It was astonishing how the same place could look so drastically different at night. He actually liked it better like this. As contradictory as it did sound, the dangerously volatile God of War actually preferred solitude and silence as opposed to the chatter of those who he very evidently could not stand.

Within moments, he stood outside his mother's familiar door. Knocking softly several times, he waited for a response. When he got none, he simply knocked again, once again to be met with absolute silence. Assuming that she was still asleep, he carefully pushed the door open not to wake her. When he did enter her room, he was quite surprised to see that the crisp white sheets of her bed had not been slept in. Everything seemed to be in their places and absolutely nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for of course his mother. However, it was at that moment that he recalled a fairly important fact- there were times when his mother would sleep at the homes of her closest siblings- Hades, Hestia and Amphitrite. Assuming that she must have done the same, he was about to turn around and leave the room when something odd caught his eye.

In the corner of her room, on her writing table, he saw the familiar shine of her gold crown. As he walked closer to it, he could see the glint of a smaller round object also made of gold that he deduced to be her wedding ring. That was odd. In his entire life, no matter what had happened, he had never known his mother to take off her wedding ring. He knew exactly how precious that piece of metal was to her, although it meant less than nothing to him. Therefore, it was highly uncharacteristic of her to do so. As he came closer to the table, he noticed that the crown and the ring were placed on a piece of paper. Slipping the paper from underneath his mother's possessions, his eyes skimmed through the page before widening and to be sure, he read it again and several times after that.

For a moment, he was frozen in shock. What on earth had he red? It couldn't be. It just didn't make sense. It couldn't be true. Someone… Hermes must be playing a prank on him. Yeah, that was the only explanation to this. Noting else could possibly make sense. She wouldn't do this. She had always been there, through everything and for her to do this now. It didn't make sense. He couldn't accept it and therefore, he read the piece of paper again.

However this time, he felt a familiar rage growing through his body as he clenched his fingers into tight fists, placing the paper down, not wanting to burn it to crisp. It was the only evidence he had and overwhelmed by his temper, he did the only rational thing he could possibly do at that point- he vanished to the room of his sister.

-x-

Eileithyia, Enyo and Eris awoke the same way- Ares banging on their door with desperation that only a man on the verge of insanity would ever understand. However, they suppressed their rage at his very sight- wild eyes, anger consuming every piece of his being, his disheveled hair- anger was not a word used to describe this sight. This was far beyond it and the only thing he said was the name of their mother. Yet, even that was spoken in a soft whisper, each syllable dripping with raw emotion and within the next second, he vanished. The three of them guessed that he would go to greet their other siblings in the same manner, and he did.

Not wasting a second in confusion, they walked towards their mother's room and each one of them had the same reaction to the letter that had been placed on the table. Both Eileithyia and Hebe broke into tears, sobbing into their palms. It was rare to see Hephaestus become annoyed. Yet, when he did, he looked like a splitting image of his brother. Both Enyo and Eris were completely still, not moving a single inch, their finger nails digging into the flesh of their palms, their bodies visibly shaking in anger. While Enyo's lips were pressed together in anger, Eris's mouth had curved into a psychotic smirk as her eyes were wild with pure vengeance.

"He did this," she whispered.

"He did this", Enyo chanted after her sister, almost spitting the words out of her mouth.

"He will pay for this," Hephaestus' voice echoed through the room, barely louder than a whisper, dripping with pure anger.

"He will spend eternity paying for this," Ares spoke, his tone mirroring his brother's, his eyes wild with a bloodlust that was rarely seen when he dealt with war.

"She's really gone isn't she?" Hebe questioned between her sobs, her knees falling to the ground.

"But she'll come back… I'm sure of it," Enyo whispered, kneeling beside her sister, placing a comforting around her body, pulling her shivering figure closer.

However, that was not the concern at this point. For millennia, the world knew that Hera had suffered every form of abuse and humiliation there was. However, she had not left. This time, she vanished right into thin air without any warning whatsoever. Therefore, it was only logical to assume that whatever it was that he had done had finally pushed her over the edge. They all knew that she would return someday. She simply had to of course and if she didn't, they would abandon everything to go looking for her. After all, she was their mother and her actions would not be forgotten.

"When all hope is lost… we must lay down our fear and get ready to fight," Ares began, his voice barely above a whisper, seething with pure vengeance as a wild grin graced lips.

"I think this is the point where all the social graces die. I don't care what he does to us but I am going to make sure that he never gets to say our mother's name with those filthy lips ever again," he added, the atmosphere of the room become warmer by the second.

"He's right," Enyo spoke, a dangerously wild smile placed across her lips as her nightgown instantly transformed into her battle armor.

"In that case… why don't we personally take this news to our dear father?" Hephaestus spoke, every single aspect of him becoming more and more fearsome, resembling his brother very evidently.

-x-

At the same time, A familiar figure stood outside her beloved mistress' room, her mouth pressed against her lips as her multicolored irises bled of tears that could not be stopped, her body shivering with a horrid mixture of anger, grief and shock.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm so sorry for the late updates but life haha... yeah, life got busy. But yes, hopefully you guys like it. Thanks for reading and please review! I'd love to hear what you guys think!**

Hours had passed ever since she left. Three women wearing dark cloaks sailed across the skies, pushing open the heavy gates of Tartarus, creaking in protest slightly as light poured in, illuminating the dark realm and its elusive surfaces. As the door was opened, a young woman with long golden hair stepped outside as her hair and her slightly bronzed skin began to glow, radiating bright light as she began to walk across the sky, signaling the arrival of daylight and the end of the night.

It was done. The night was officially over and she had escaped. Ever since she had left, her arms had not stopped trembling. What was this? She could not help but second guess her decisions. Should she have left? But every time she thought of that, she would be confronted with a different thought- she **had** left and now, it was too late to return. If she did return, Zeus would punish and humiliate her as he always did, once again. She would be forced to accept his numerous affairs and she would have to face the open animosity in his court towards her, mostly from his children. Moreover, if she returned, she would never be able to leave again. Besides, she had always yearned to be free once again. She had always wished to run across the wild open fields once again, as she used to when she was a maiden. She had always told Hades about the dreams that she would have about traveling across the world and interacting with different cultures as he often did. Of course she knew there was a world apart from the Greek, everyone did but contact was forbidden naturally. However, this hardly stopped her brother who traveled far and wide to interact with several different Gods.

Yes, how could she ever second-guess her decision? Like it or not, she could no longer return. She had gotten what she had wished for so long. Therefore, now, it was her turn to live and laugh like she had wished to do for so long and with that thought, a small smile cracked across her face for the first time since she had taken a foot outside her palace.

-x—

The ocean was silent. Not surprisingly, Poseidon was not present. Like his brother, he too was promiscuous and preferred to socialize far too much with his subjects. Therefore, once again, the entire palace was silent as his queen, Amphritrite slept in peace after finishing off several loads of neglected paperwork again. It had only been a few hours since she had reluctantly agreed to close her eyes when she was rudely awoken. For an instant, she had imagined it to be her own husband and was ready to snap at him. After all, two rough palms shook her violently as she heard a male voice vaguely calling her name. As she started to wake up, her vision became clearer and she registered that voice to be none other than her own nephew's- Ares. Fully conscious, she noted that his facial expression was far from calm. Panic and worry clouded his eyes as she saw the faint outline of tears gliding down his angular face. Of course, her darling nephew was not known to be the calmest of the lot, but this was one expression she had never seen in her life across his face.

"Oh darling, what's wrong?" she questioned, a delicate frown of worry etched across her own face as she placed her palms on either side of his face.

"Aunt Amphitrite…. I don't… I…" he spoke broken, unable to form a coherent sentence, still shaken up, causing her to be more worried.

"Deep breaths my child… inhale and exhale… form your words child," she whispered calmly, attempting to calm him down, her eyes fixed on his as he began to regain a bit of his composure, obeying her instructions.

"She's gone," he managed to whisper as he regained a bit of his composure, his body still slightly trembling.

"Who has gone?" she questioned softly, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow, slightly confused.

"My mother… Hera's gone," he finally whispered, his body trembling again as tears began to roll down his face again.

Amphitrite on the other hand, seemed to have lost all emotion as she remained frozen, shocked by the news, unable to react.

He had no one else to go to. As his mother's younger sister, Amphitrite was one of the closest people to Hera's exclusive heart and therefore, as her first born child, he was raised by both of them. He often played with his aunt as a child and both those women were the only ones who knew this vulnerable side of his nature. After all, he was the God of War. He could not be seen sobbing like this but even he had to vent. After all, no matter how bad things were, his mother never left, no matter how much her children had encouraged her to do so. Therefore, the fact that she had vanished had shaken him to the very core because he couldn't help but imagine what horrid thing his father had done now to force her to abandon them like this.

-x—

By this point, streaks of daylight pierced the midnight sky. The night was over and a significant portion of the Olympian Gods had been reluctantly awoken by the chaotic noise of the night. Aphrodite had stormed out of her room, clearly annoyed as people had interrupted her routine beauty sleep, while Athena had stepped out of her room hearing loud voices, curious to see what was going on. The twins- Artemis and Apollo had just returned. Apollo had just woken up to start his daily duties while his twin sister had just returned from hers. Naturally, both were curious to see exactly what was going on.

Ares was missing. But his brother's furious knocks on their father's door echoed loudly through the mountain. _Hephaestus was always known to be the calm one- the one who accepted everything and found solutions in the direst of situations. It was Ares who had quite the reputation for being overly emotional and having an explosive temper. Thus, knocking furiously on their father's door would be something that Ares would be capable of, not his younger brother. Yet, it was Hephaestus who was behaving this way, which meant something was horribly wrong. Ares on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen, to make things worse._

_Behind Hephaestus, his sisters and Iris stood in the hallway, each one looking more furious than the other. Naturally, this including Iris, their mother's most dedicated and favorite hand-maiden who, despite the steady stream of tears flowing down her cheeks still had her eyes burning with pure anger. Therefore, by what the other by-standers had deduced, things were quite bad._

_"__What is going on here?" echoed the powerful female voice of Demeter, causing Hephaestus to stop knocking as all eyes seemed to fall on the formidable form of the Goddess of Harvest._

_"__What is the meaning of this absolute madness?" she questioned, her eyes scanning each face as no answer seemed to be provided to her question._

_"__I will ask again and this time I expect an answer. What i-"she began, slightly more annoyed as she was promptly cut off by her livid nephew._

_"__Where is he?" Hephaestus' voice echoed in a whisper, trembling with overwhelming emotion like the frame of his body._

_"__What?" she questioned, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow clearly annoyed at this point._

_"__Where is he?" he repeated slowly, slightly louder as his nails clenched into tight fists, his nails digging into the flesh of his palms relentlessly._

_"__Who?" she questioned in the same tone, undertones of mild curiosity evident in her voice at this point._

"My brilliant father of course. Where is he?" he questioned, his voice becoming more and raspier as it was overwhelmed by pure emotion.

"How should I know? I'm not his baby sitter. Now-"she began as she was cut off by one of her nieces this time, much to her annoyance.

"Just answer the question would you? Where in the world is he today? You of all people know. You always know so stop behaving like you don't and just spill it for once alright?" screamed Enyo, her body trembling as tears violently ran down her face.

Demeter on the other hand, was far from pleased. Clearly annoyed, she was more than ready to teach her niece a nice lesson in etiquette when she was promptly stopped by her older sister, Hestia much to her dismay.

"Athens I believe and if you all don't mind me asking, what is this commotion about?" she questioned mildly as Demeter simply rolled her eyes at her sister.

Yeah, like that would get her anywhere. These children… just because they were Hera's birth children believed they could do anything at any moment and get away with it just like that. How spoiled they were. Meanwhile, her own darling daughter was kidnapped by that brute and forced to be his hostage for eternity. How unfair it was.

"She's gone Aunt Hestia," Eileithyia whispered, her eyes fixed at the sight of her feet.

"Who has vanished now? Honestly, just because another one of you pests have gone, you all do this? Just who do you people think you are behaving like this? If I-"Demeter began, rolling her eyes as she was silenced by Hestia.

"Who has gone?" she asked calmly, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow, clearly ignoring the steady stream of whispers of speculation among their audience.

She was met by no answer. Enyo simply sobbed harder as _Hephaestus wrapped an arm around her, pulling his sister closer to him as a gesture of comfort. It was evident that he was trying considerably hard not to give into his own emotional stress at this point as his face remained as frozen as rock to prevent his siblings from doing so as well. Yet, his limbs clearly trembled. On the other hand, _Eileithyia's eyes remained fixed at her feet and as for Eris, her face and her eyes lacked any trace of emotion. In the end, it was Iris who managed to speak.

"My… My mistress… has gone," she managed to speak, her body and her voice quivering as tears finally stopped flowing from her face.

Following this, a loud gasp, followed by loud whispers erupted amongst the Gods who witnessed this. Yes, Hera, the Queen of Olympus had finally vanished.


	6. Chapter 6

"My mistress… has gone"

Those words echoed throughout the hall, whispers and gasps spreading like a forest fire through the chorus of spectators that seemed to only be growing by the minute. After all, their Queen was missing.

"What?" asked Demeter, her lips parted as her shocked eyes were widened and her voice quivering as she seemed to be unsure of what she had heard with her own ears.

Her sister however, seemed to be perfectly calm. Hestia simply stood there, her hands loosely placed at her sides with absolutely no emotion across her face. She seemed to have no reaction at all. However, for those who knew her well enough, this was a significant reaction. She was known for her warmth, her hospitality and her undoubted kindness. The woman who stood before them was impassionate and aloof as she simply zoned all the cares of the world out of her ears. This was not the same woman.

"Our mother is no longer present here," a dangerously calm Hephaestus responded as gasps and whispers echoed through their audience once again.

"B-But.. No. You lying fools how can that be possible? Of course she is here! She put you up to this didn't she? Honestly.." Demeter's voice echoed loudly as she ran her fingers through her hazelnut hair, causing several spectators to wince slightly at its volume and shrillness.

Very evidently, she did not believe them. She thought them to be attention seeking fools who lived to steal her daughter's spotlight and be their father's favourite. But she saw right through them and she was quite shocked that no one else had so far. Really, the Queen of Olympus simply packing up and leaving because of an argument? Hera had nerves of steel and she had been through quite a bit. If she hadn't left then, why would she even consider leaving now? Things were much better between them and even if they weren't who cared? She was no child and she knew what to expect from Zeus didn't she? After all, he was the King of all Gods and the King of Olympus. Who was she to question him, even if she was his queen?

"And for you all to fall for this great farce… How I am disappointed in you all! Your Queen can not abandon you for she would not be a Queen then and if there is anything we all are certain of, Hera would never miss an opportunity-" she began, now addressing her audience proudly until she was silenced by the creaking of doors, followed by the echo of footsteps as the crowd seemed to part.

That was her conformation. Of course, she had been caught and now, she was here, Demeter thought with a victorious smirk across her lips.

"Oh dear sister, how kind of you to make an appearance," she mocked as whispers broke out among the crowd again.

That was when she knew that this was not her sister. Could she.. no. Hera would not do such a thing. She was too much of a Queen to give up and run away now. No, she was Hera after all, not some random woman. More importantly, this was her sister and she knew for a fact that Hera never gave up.

However, all her hope shattered as she saw the familiar faces of her sister-in-law and her nephew emerging from the crowd. Amphitrite walked beside her nephew, slightly ahead of him, taking long proud strides. Her head was held high, her blonde strands flying behind her, almost mocking the waves of her beloved ocean as her features shone prominently in the morning light. Her blue gown almost sparkled as embodied the ocean in every single step. Her nephew on the other hand, walked beside her suited up entirely in his battle-armour. The silver armour shone in the sunlight, radiating an almost blinding light. His footsteps were heavier and more impatient as he walked beside her proudly, embodying the concept of war, anger and hatred as his eyes were fixed on his two aunts that stood before him.

"Before you all begin, my sister is gone. Get that through your thick heads. She is not joking, she is not playing a prank and this is not a drill. Therefore, considering that it was you lovely people who drove her insane, I would like my nieces and nephews to accompany me to their grandparent's home where they will remain until their mother returns. Like I said, this is not a drill and as you all know, I do not joke," Amphitrite sharply finished before anyone could react.

This was really the best way to do things- fast and efficient.

"Wait a minute, " Demeter began as she processed all the information that had been said.

"I am afraid that I cannot grant that request my dear," Hestia's calm voice rang through the hall, silencing every single gasp and whisper as her eyes were fixed only on the Queen of the Sea.

"And why not?" Amphitrite asked, her eyes narrowing every second.

"Because it would not be right to do so. They have a father-" she began as Ares' sharp words silenced her instantly.

"Who just by the way, is in Athens with another one of his whores, insulting our mother and mocking her values once again. That monster is not my father and he never will be. He might be the King of Olympus, but everyone knows that he doesn't deserve to be. He wouldn't last a minute without our mother," he calmly finished as Athena finally spoke up, clearly offended.

"How dare you insult your King like that? Do you not have any shame? You disgust me you filthy animal," she sneered as he simply rolled his eyes at her words.

"Oh I do? That's reassuring. For a moment, I actually thought you liked me… sister," he sneered, sarcasm dripping from his words as he simply rolled his eyes, ignoring her existence and simply turning to face his aunt again.

Of course, for Athena, this was the greatest insult. No one- man, woman, child, animal- no living organism had ever looked away from her. Nothing had ever ignored her. After all, she was the Goddess of Knowledge and Strategy for a reason.

"Like I said, I want them to come with me. I am not asking for anyone's prior permission here, so do not be mistaken. After all, this is the least you can do… considering, you all are to blame for your Queen's absence," Amphitrite stated calmly as gasps and whispers exploded again.  
At this point, both Demeter and Hestia nervously glanced at each other, a similar thought passing through their minds- he would not be pleased.

\- x -

After hours of walking, the two siblings had finally reached civilization again. They had left their comfort zone a long time ago and had descended upon the heat of the Mediterranean states. Vast wrinkles of stormy blue waters were no longer visible. There were no more emerald green fields lying abandoned for miles. The skies were not painted a permanent shade of gray and they did not constantly voice their displeasure with the world through their prolonged rumbling, with occasional flashes of lighting. There seemed to be an absolute abundance of human figures everywhere, unlike their home, were humans were found in rare areas on land as they spent most their lives on the ferocious seas. Therefore, this was a drastic change for them.

They stuck out like sore thumbs. While the natives had dark hair and eyes, rather short figures and a strange olive skin tone, they were lean, tall, and athletic. Their fair skinned with light eyes and thin strands of hair almost sparkled in the warm sunlight of Athens. However, oddly enough, they were not gawking at by the locals, who were far too invested in their markets, bargaining with the shop vendors and traders. Never before had the two siblings seen such an abundance of commodities. Colours, pungent scents, screams, laughter, smoke, sweat and infectious emery had defined the mornings at markets in Athens. This was clearly one of them.

Therefore, in such a situation, the siblings were absolutely overwhelmed as they were pushed by people from every possible side. In such a situation, Freya was close to loosen her cool. Her personal space seemed non-existent. Her face held a tight expression of disgust and control as she forced herself not to react to the situation. A direct contrast was her brother Freyr, who seemed as calm and collected as ever, infuriating his sister even more. The final straw however, was pushed when Freya felt a hand reach under her thick fur coat. The fingers wandered around aimlessly, searching desperately for a valuable item to snatch. This had one on far enough now. Therefore, her thin fingers clasped around the wrist like a frozen vice. Soon enough, she heard a yelp of pain behind her, causing an amused smirk to break out across her face as she yanked the wrist and threw the culprit to the floor, causing a roan of pain and whispers and lies from her audience. After a string of nonsensical hurried apologies, the bewildered culprit ran away, merino into the crowd. Naturally, she was pleased with herself. But her pleasure was short lived as she was soon faced with her brother's stern expression.

Killjoy, she thought to herself as she simply rolled her eyes and walked on ahead.

This was in no manner amusing. The weather was horrid and humans seemed to be in absolute abundance. She was annoyed as to how he was able to look so calm and composed, while sailing through the sea of never-ending humans. It made her seem impatient, which she was to be completely honest, not that she would ever admit it though.

It was at that precise moment that her thoughts were interrupted cruelly as she felt the presence of another immortal. The world was a funny place. Each culture had their own deities and for that reason, deities of different cultures were forbidden to enter and interact with one another as it would confuse the humans that worshiped them. After all, a deity was dependent on human worship and devotion. Therefore, the older the culture, the more powerful their deities as they were considered to be the originals. However, just because they were forbidden to interact with one another hardly meant that anyone actually followed those terms and conditions. She knew of several who interacted with others, some on more than friendly terms as well. As a result of this, immortals in general could sense one another. At this point, she could faintly sense one. But, considering this was a different culture and that the deity was unknown to her, she could not place who he was. But one thing was for sure, he was an immortal and by this time Freyr knew it as well.  
For a brief moment, his eyes turned to meet hers as they shared a brief look of mutual understanding. It was quite evident that both of them were going to follow this presence. After all, this was their first and only solid lead so far. Therefore, both instantly weaved their way through the busy market streets of Athens, entering narrower and significantly smaller alleyways, attempting to navigate their way through the unknown city.

Unlike their cities, this as much bier and therefore, much more chaotic as well. People from several different nationalities had all gathered here as if it were a massive melting pot, which it was in a way. Athens was the heart of the world at the moment. It was cultural, artistic, intellectual and absolutely thriving in every possible sense. Their cities were much smaller in comparison and were far better planned as well. It was much easier to understand it, unlike Athens which seemed like an intricate spider's web at this point to them. Due to the overwhelming presence of humans in every possible corner, it was much harder to concentrate on the presence and even harder to locate it.

It was going to be a long time until they were able to find this presence. After all, it seemed to be weakening significantly at this point.

-x-

Zeus was not happy to say the least. He had been with Valarie, a woman he often paid his visits to in Athens. Neither her husband, nor her children were home today and they had the entire day to themselves and naturally, they were in the midst of enjoying it. However, Hermes appeared at that moment, summoning him to Olympus. Everything about him seemed frazzled and unnatural. He was known to be the messenger of Olympus, but also was quite infamous for his ways as a trickster. Therefore, he would often be presented with a mocking smirk across his face, coolly appearing as if he really didn't care, which in most cases was true. This time though, he was visually shivering, avoided direct eye contact with Zeus and his face bore no remote mark of enjoyment. Therefore, Zeus knew it was serious. After all, it was rare enough for Hermes to actually come down and call upon him, but it was almost unknown to see him behave like that.

Why did everything have to take place right when he was relaxing? The Oracles really hated him didn't they? His fate was so cruel, he thought to himself as he made his way to back Olympus.

As soon as he stepped foot on familiar rounds, thins seemed evidently wrong. Everyone present, which happened to be most of the Greek deities avoided eye contact with him, whispering as he passed them. Again, unless there was a meeting called by him demanding an audience like this, it was almost impossible to gather all these individuals in one area at a given time.

However, he ignored most of this and walked straight to the hall, pushing open the doors, causing every single eye to turn too face him. Once again, whispers and murmurs erupted at his sight and by this point, Zeus was clearly annoyed. What was going on?

However, before he could open his mouth to ask, he felt a sharp pain in his left cheek as he felt his body fly through the air, crashing into the hard marble walls.  
Almost instantly, Athena sprang up, gasping in horror as several others did the same, restraining the culprit. Bit at this point, Zeus had had enough. He was seriously annoyed.

Pulling himself out from the cavity in the wall, his eyes focused on the culprit restrained in front of him- his foolish deformed son.

Dusting off a few marble pieces, he walled towards his son , fists clenched and eyes seething with anger as he raised his arm to punch him into the next millennia. The boy needed to be disciplined thoroughly. His mother had made him soft. Raising his hand on his king, that too, the King of Olympus- how dare he, Zeus though to himself before his wrist was calmly stopped.

Clearly annoyed, he turned to face his older brother, Hades had his palm wrapped around his wrist calmly.

"what is the meaning of this brother?" He questioned, anger dripping from his voice.

"meaning of what?" Hades replied calmly, almost nonchalant, aggravating him even more.

"how dare you interrupt me, the King of Olympus, of all-" he began as Hades simply rolled his eyes.

"your evident stupidity astounds me," Hades cut him off sharply as he glared at him and if looks could kill and if he wasn't the king of the underworld, he would be dead by now.

"look around you fool. Haven't you figured it out yet? Are you so ignorant that you can't even notice her evident absence?" Hades questioned, irritation evident in the undertones of his words.

At that moment, Zeus' piercing blue eyes darted around from face to face. Each one seemed shocked or horrified and then, his eyes registered the sobbing faces of his- no, Hera's children. Why were they crying? Why did his son strike him? Why were they all here?

Then, it struck him. Not everyone was here. She wasn't there. Agreed, they didn't have the best relationship but he knee that no matter what he did, she would always be watching, she would always be fulfilling his neglected duties.

He couldn't see her. He couldn't sense her. He couldn't feel her and in that moment, it all made sense. Hera, the Queen of the Gods, the Queen of Olympus, his wife, his companion, his soul mate had abandoned him at last.

She was gone and before he knew it, his face was stained with tears as he violently barked orders to locate and bring her back.

Hera was gone and for once, the almighty King of Gods was as powerless as an infant.


	7. Chapter 7

It had been days at this point, all they were doing was walking in circles. The sun had begun to set over Athens and the city was slowly falling asleep. Most the women had vanished from the streets and had returned to their homes. Their husbands on the other hand, lurked the emptying streets of Athens, loud and very evidently drunk. In the middle of this, young couples walked beside each other discreetly, in order not to raise suspicion of the older people of their communities. The scent of alcohol and the sweltering heat hung over Athens like a damp cloth. Most faces were caked with sweat, but thankfully, they were not. Despite wearing thick cloaks, both Freyr and Freyja looked as fresh as they had been when they entered this side of the world. 

Neither of them wanted to say it, but both thought the same thing- they were getting nowhere in life, clearly. The presence had vanished a long time ago and at this point, walking was pointless. Yet, neither one would openly admit it as it would cause them to apologize to the other- stubbornness clearly ran in the siblings blood.  
As daylight began to melt away into the darkness, Freyja finally spoke up. 

"We are walking in circles!" she declared, annoyed and very evidently irritated with the humid Greek weather. 

"No we are not," Freyr calmly replied, although he knew she was right. 

"Oh please, you know I'm right so drop the act. We passed the same building thrice now," she pointed out, irritation evident in her tone. 

"Athens has many buildings, most look similar. You must have gotten confused," he responded in the same tone as she rolled her eyes at his response. 

"That building has a broken window and we passed it thrice and you know it so don't even bother," she responded, anger flashing in her eyes.  
Really, for the Goddess of sensuality, she really was the polar opposite from it. With such a temper, Freyr often wondered how exactly men fell to her feet like flies.

"Look, I know you're upset but there is literally nothing we can do at this point. According to our sources, this is a famous Greek town- Gods often come down, pretending to be human so that chaos is not caused. Therefore, let's hope that we have better luck tomorrow," he suggested, slightly exasperated.

"And what if they don't show up? What if none of them come for months? Are we supposed to rot in this filth of a city and abandon our responsibilities to our people? Freyr, I am the Queen of the Valkyries and being here for so long was a stretch in itself. I don't have the luxury to sit and rot in Greece all my life," she snapped. 

"I know I know. I have responsibilities too you know… but we need to meet Hecate one way or another and by ambushing a Greek God is the best and the easiest way I know. You need to be positive. We can always hope for them-"he began as she sliced his words right off, her eyes shining with anger. 

"Hope for them? I am not a pauper, nor am I foolish. I refuse to be treated in that manner so you better get this straight- we are not waiting. If we don't find them by tomorrow morning, we return and you tell Odin," she bluntly explained as he rolled his eyes at this point. 

"You can go you know… I don't need you to watch my every step and treat me as if I were a child," he snapped, shocking her mildly. 

After all, Freyr was known for his almost brilliant control over his emotions and for him to react like that meant only one thing to her- stress. She knew just how stressed he really was, but she had never imagined that it was nearly this bad. 

"I don't treat you like a child but I will begin treating you as an imbecile if you keep this up," she snapped in return and simply walked in front of him, walking towards a woman who looked like her house had a few spare rooms and after talking to Freyr for a while, Freyja got the impression that the only reason she did this was to get closer to him. 

Her suspicions were confirmed when their rooms consisted of only a small single bed, one cover, one pillow. When Freyr finally asked her for more appliances, she had told him that she was going to establish an entirely different room for him, which of course, was her room. At this point, Freyja simply rolled her eyes out of pure disgust. Of course she knew he was attractive but really, did she have to flirt with him now? Freyr too was at fault- he was just too… nice and that just encouraged women like her more. It was a sad reality, but it was the absolute truth and it annoyed Freyja. Therefore, she simply ignored them and walked up to her room, pushing the door open to reveal the small room. 

It had a small bed, a table and a window that was covered by heavy drapes. It was sparsely decorated but all they needed the room was for a single night. Therefore, she closed the door softly behind her and sat down on the bed. Freyja didn't know if he noticed or not, but that presence earlier today bothered her. It really did. As a deity, of course she could sense other deities, even if they were foreign. However, if the deity was of her own culture, she felt the presence to be much stronger. The problem with this presence was that it felt familiar, which meant that it felt like a presence of her own culture. However, it also felt foreign at the same time. She couldn't understand who it was. The only person who had ever radiated such a presence was Hecate. Regardless of not being a Norse deity, she was still a close friend and therefore, her presence was well known to Freyja. But apart from that, Freyja had never interacted with a deity external to her culture. Therefore, it was highly unlikely that she knew a foreign deity to have a familiar aura. 

-x- 

"So, how does it feel to be away from your palace and all the gold and your 'loyal' servants?" Nyx's dry, sarcastic tone echoed through the eerie silence of Tartarus as Hecate shot her a sharp look. 

"What? I'm curious and I want to know," Nyx replied, catching her friend's gaze, shrugging her shoulders lightly as she justified her question. 

"Oh I know," Hecate responded, her tone filled with a familiar sarcasm as she rolled her dark eyes. 

"Then why do you ask?" Nyx responded, an amused grin spreading across her sharp features. 

"It's alright," Hera finally managed to speak, interrupting the friendly banter between the two deities, who turned to face her. 

Upon hearing her, Nyx shot a victorious grin to Hecate who simply rolled her eyes. 

"Well, to answer your question… it feels liberating I suppose," Hera spoke, adding to her earlier statement slowly as she attempted to find the right words. 

"Liberating?" Nyx questioned, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow in curiosity. 

"Well, I think you both know by now that I never liked that lifestyle. I mean, I was grateful that I was allowed to live in such luxury, with the gold, the attention and the handmaidens, but I was much happier when I lived with my parents," she admitted, attempting to clarify Nyx's query. 

Hera was not surprised that Nyx was confused by her earlier statement. The truth was that most people were shocked or confused when they heard that she did not like the overindulgent lifestyle she had lived in Olympus. Most people portrayed her as a lavish queen who ate sweets all day and bathed in gold or something on similar lines. However, in reality, she much preferred to be left alone so that she could do whatever she liked, be it running barefoot across fields or sleeping in trees. Truth be told, Hera loved being in constant touch with nature. Therefore, she had built her garden in Olympus, where no other deity was allowed to enter without her permission, not even Zeus. It was the only place that Zeus in particular was denied admission and as much as it hurt his overindulgent ego, he knew better than to violate her sanctuary. 

"Your parents?" Nyx questioned again, once again raising her arched eyebrow sharply. 

"Oceanus and Tethys raised me and therefore, they are my parents, regardless of who gave birth to me," Hera bluntly stated, her tone sharpening with each word.  
Once again, she was used to this. People always assumed that she spoke of Kronos and Rhea when she mentioned her parents. However, they had abandoned her when she was still an infant, leaving her to Oceanus and Tethys to raise, who still had not conceived a child. It was only after taking Hera in that Amphitrite was born.

Therefore, she was extremely close to all them and when she married Zeus, she was heartbroken to leave their company more than anything. It was for that reason that when Amphitrite married Poseidon, Hera was overjoyed to have the company of her sister in an unknown court, filled with people who mostly despised her for reasons that Hera could never comprehend. For this reason, whenever the topic of her parents came up, Hera became sharply defensive. After all, birth parents meant nothing- it was always the people who raised the child that had the right to be called its parents. 

"Your childhood must have been brilliant because of them," Hecate spoke finally, attempting to soothe the growing tension in the air. 

"It was the most amazing time of my life," Hera admitted, turning to Hecate with a small smile, her tone turning more nostalgic and her defensive nature slowly fading away. 

"I can imagine. They are always so amusing and so hospitable as well. I remember having the privilege of being their guest a couple of times. I do have to admit that I am slightly jealous that you had the privilege of being their child," Nyx commented airily, causing Hera to greet her with a wide smile. 

"As am I. My father used to teach me how to swim and I was horrid at it, unlike my sister and therefore, he would make me ride on dolphins and he would ask the fish to guide me until I learned to swim myself. Of course, that took several years but until then, I explored the ocean with the dolphins," she explained, her expression softening as she spoke of her past. 

Unless it was in the company of those whom she genuinely cherished, namely her sister, her children and a select few friends, Hera never spoke of her childhood. It was a forbidden topic mostly because people expected her to claim that she was close to her birth parents when she despised both of them. Therefore, for her to speak of her childhood with Oceanus and Tethys so fondly was considered rude and since her temper wasn't exactly the greatest, she avoided confrontation by not mentioning her childhood. At this moment, she knew Hecate and Nyx could be trusted. After all, they had helped her escape Olympus. 

"Yeah, water and I aren't on the best terms if you know what I mean," Nyx responded, sarcasm dripping from her voice as she rolled her eyes, causing Hecate to snigger. 

"I do agree with Nyx on that. I don't mind the water, but with Poseidon, I prefer not to venture into the oceans. I often feel that he is constantly watching me and he really is Zeus' lapdog at times," Hecate admitted as Nyx nodded in pure agreement. 

However, Hera began to laugh hearing her comments. It was absolutely true. Over the years, talks of a rebellion lead by Poseidon had erupted across Olympus. However, Hades was often accused for such rumours instead of Poseidon, who in Hera's opinion would be more apt. Hades, contrary to popular opinion, enjoyed the underworld. He enjoyed the fact that Zeus had no reign in his realm and he never would. But Poseidon on the other hand, wanted the throne and Hera knew that he was capable of anything to get it. But, since he was 'loyal' to Zeus unlike Hades, people suspected the latter. These rumours of course were often confirmed by her sister who really didn't care if her husband was punished or not. 

"He does that a lot," Hera admitted, thoroughly amused. 

"All of them do. They all suck up to him as if there is no tomorrow. Have you seen Demeter? Ordinarily I would say that she should suck him but I'm pretty sure she already did," Nyx commented airily, causing Hecate to shoot her another silencing look again. 

Upon hearing this comment, Hera felt herself stiffen. She had never been particularly close to Demeter and always did prefer the company of Hestia. Yet, it was quite a shock when Hera found out that her husband had slept with Demeter and impregnated her with Persephone. It was a rude shock and that was one of the coldest betrayals she had ever encountered. This was followed by the shocking revelation that her trusted priestess and friend Io was sleeping with her husband as well. Following this, Hera had made a conscious effort to push almost everyone away in order to prevent such a cruel betrayal and she had been quite successful in that field. It was for that reason that she was presented to be cruel and aloof and to be honest, Hera really did not care. 

Hearing her own words, Nyx soon realized her mistake. She hadn't meant it to hurt Hera, but she had obviously done so. As cold as Nyx was, she did care about certain people, as contrary as that may seem. Although these people were limited, she did care greatly for them. Hera was included in that list of course and therefore, right now, she glanced nervously at Hecate, unsure as to what she should do. 

"Hey… look… I'm-" Nyx began, attempting to apologize as she was cut off sharply by Hera. 

"It's alright," she found herself whispering, her eyes fixed to her feet as she flashed Nyx and Hecate a strained smile. 

"I think I'm going to lie down for a bit. I haven't slept all night and I suddenly feel a little tired," she added before either one of them could speak as she stood up and excused herself from their company, walking to the guest room that had been prepared for her. 

"Can you please think before you speak?" Hecate whispered harshly to her friend who shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes. 

"Well you know I'm not good at that," Nyx responded in the same tone. 

"Besides, she ought to get over that. Demeter is basically a glorified prostitute. She'll sleep with anyone if they give her what she wants," she commented dryly. 

"That isn't the point. She's still hurt by it so don't mention it," Hecate responded, rolling her eyes. 

"But why? Demeter is a fool and her husband is a bigger fool and she left him so she needs to forget it and move on," Nyx responded calmly. 

"It's not as easy as it sounds you know, it's much harder in reality," Hecate replied softly. 

"I know it is. I never said it would be easy but look, she left that life willingly and if she is going to mop around about events in the past, she's never going to move on and what is the point of leaving then? She might as well stay there and be depressed about all it. The only person who can decide to move on is her and if Hera can't do so, she might as well return to be honest," Nyx commented, as Hecate allowed a soft sigh to escape her lips, knowing that her friend as right. 

Reality was never kind. It was harsh and it personified cruelty. Unfortunately, it was time for the Goddess of Marriage to accept this and no one could help her do so. 

-x-

Over the span of a few hours, a lot had happened. Amphitrite had proudly walked out of the great halls of Olympus, followed by her nieces and nephews and had promptly lead them to her parents' home to protect them from any possible threats. She had defied almost ever God in the hall and had walked past Zeus without a single glance of pity spared at the King of Gods. She had taken Iris as well, allowing the young Goddess of Rainbows to be close to her at all times, to protect her from any future threats.

The King of Gods on the other hand, was more erratic than ever. He screamed for his subjects to locate his wife and lashed out violently at anyone who dared to defy him. Poseidon attempted to calm him, but was often met by a violent anger, as was Athena- his favorite child. As a result of this, Hermes had quickly set out to find his Queen while Aphrodite reluctantly looked through every reflective surface, attempting to locate Hera although she really didn't mind her absence. Most women rejoiced at her absence. After all, with her not present, they could possibly be considered for the position of Queen of Olympus. Therefore, thousands of women- Nymphs, lesser Goddesses, Priestesses- anyone and everyone had been pouring through the halls of Olympus to show their support for Zeus, attempting to win his favor. For the first time in eternity though, Zeus could not spare them a single glance. Instead, he had retired to the comfort of his room, summoning only and only Hestia and very ironically, Hades- his oldest brother and greatest rival.

At the moment, the King of Olympus seemed to be a shattered shell of his previous self. He was no longer majestic and looked somehow, more shrivelled. He leaned back, allowing his back to touch the coolness of the wall and closed his eyes, attempting to think where his wife could possibly be. He knew that she was the closest to Hades and Hestia in the court, so it was logical to summon them, even if he despised Hades. In all his years, he never thought that she would actually leave. Of course, she had threatened him with it several times but she had never seen it through, until now that was. She had always stayed, be it for him or for their children. The point was that she had always stayed. So why should she leave now? It just did not make any sense to him. She hadn't left when he had slept with Demeter or Io, and she had left now, when he simply continued his affairs with worthless mortals. He just didn't understand. Zeus had stayed away from the women of the court and those close to her in order to keep her happy. Therefore, he only slept with mortal women or nymphs. He just didn't understand what he had done so wrong anyway. 

In his head, he could hear Hades' voice echoing, telling him that he was going to lose her if he kept this behaviour up and now, through a cruel turn of events, Hades' prophecy had come true and it annoyed him to new extents. He had won. But what was worse was that he would have to use his help in locating Hera.


End file.
